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Ted Cruz leads Donald Trump by 15 points in Texas, according to a Monmouth University poll released Thursday
Ted Cruz leads Donald Trump by 15 points in Texas, a new poll shows.
Following a blowout win for Trump in Nevada, speculation that the home state senator could lose the winner-take-all contest had mounted. But Cruz has support from 38% of Texans compared to 23% for Trump, according to the Monmouth University poll released Thursday.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio garners 21% support, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 6% and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 5%.
Cruz has had the upper hand in most public polls of Texas, though Trump’s strength there has raised the possibility that Cruz could lose his own turf, a blow that would strike at the core of his southern strategy and raise questions about his path forward.
“Cruz looks to be well-positioned in Texas,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, in a release accompanying the poll results. “The challenge for him is that a lot of other states are also on the slate for Super Tuesday.”
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is well ahead of Bernie Sanders, leading him 64% to 30%.
The poll surveyed 456 likely Texas Republican voters and 304 likely Texas Democratic voters from February 22-24. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points for Republicans and plus or minus 5.6 percentage points for Democrats.
